


Mostly Nothing At All

by Beth H (bethbethbeth)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen, Hell's Kitchen, New York Diners, birthday fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-20
Updated: 2014-09-20
Packaged: 2018-02-18 01:28:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2330237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bethbethbeth/pseuds/Beth%20H
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Bucky's birthday - sort of - and Clint takes him out for lunch.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mostly Nothing At All

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hils](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hils/gifts).



> A written-at-the-speed-of-light birthday ficlet for Hils.

The name of the neighborhood - Hell’s Kitchen - hadn’t sounded like the most promising place to find a decent diner, but Clint swore by the french fries, and because for all Bucky knew, he’d eaten there a dozen times before (there still was a lot he wasn’t too clear on from his past), he’d said yeah to lunch.

It was a pretty nice afternoon, so they walked the mile to the diner (Bucky had definitely been in that neighborhood before; the diner was just a couple blocks from Times Square, for god’s sake) and got themselves seated in a quiet booth near the back.

They both ordered steak sandwiches and fries, then settled in to talk about…mostly nothing at all, which was Bucky’s favorite thing to talk about these days. Spending time with Steve - with all the Avengers, really - was pretty great, but almost all of them were so intense, so _focused_ , so much of the time...it wore Bucky out. He knew Steve would have disagreed, but sometimes Bucky got the weird feeling that most of the team might have been more comfortable with the Winter Soldier’s single-mindedness than with Bucky’s own…his…whatever his own personality was shaping up to be.

Clint though…Clint was the most easy going of the bunch, and so far, Bucky and Clint had never run out of ways to yap about nothing in particular.

*

The food was all gone and there was a brief lull in the conversation when their waitress, a woman of indeterminate years, auburn hair held in place with a mother-of-pearl barrette, came back to the table.

In her hand was a plate with a single cupcake.

The cupcake wasn’t fancy, not even one of those red velvet things that seemed to be everywhere these days. It was just a plain vanilla cupcake with chocolate butter-cream frosting, but in the center was a skinny red, white, and blue candle, its flame flickering slightly in the breeze.

The waitress looked over at Clint, and when he nodded, she set the cupcake down in front of Bucky.

"I’d sing to you like they do at Applebees," she said in a voice that Bucky somehow knew came straight off of Mermaid Avenue in Coney Island," but I wouldn’t want to wreck your birthday. Do you boys want anything else?"

"No, we’re good," Clint said. "Thanks for lighting the candle."

"Don’t mention it," the waitress replied. "Let me know when you want the check," she added before heading back to the kitchen.

Bucky stared down at the candle’s flickering flame. “Pretty sure today's date isn’t the birthdate listed in James Buchanan Barnes’ file.”

"Nah," Clint said, shrugging a little. "But it’s one year to the day since you showed up at Steve’s door. so I figured…this could be sort of like a re-birth day lunch thing. You don’t mind, do you? I asked Phil, and he said you’d probably be okay with this."

Bucky didn’t answer for a moment, then he looked up at Clint. “Yeah, well, I guess Coulson knows a thing or two about being re-born.”

"Yeah."

There was another brief pause, then Bucky asked, "So…you want to share my re-birthday cupcake?"

"You sure, man? I wouldn’t want to deprive you or anything."

Bucky wasn’t great at reading body language, but Clint’s clearly said “give me half of that cupcake and give it to me now.”

"I think I can suffer the loss," Bucky said dryly.

"You’re a prince among men, dude. Happy sort of birthday."

"Thanks," Bucky said. "And yeah…it is."


End file.
